Posted: Apr 23, 2010

SOFTBALL HOSTS TOP-RANKED NEC OPPONENTS THIS WEEKEND; GAMES TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON BRYANTBULLDOGS.TV

April 23, 2010

SOFTBALL HOSTS TOP-RANKED NEC OPPONENTS THIS WEEKEND; GAMES TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON BRYANTBULLDOGS.TV

BRYANT TO HONOR TRIO OF SENIORS SUNDAY

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University softball team returns to Northeast Conference play this weekend when they host the conference’s top two teams. On Saturday, the Bulldogs will play host to top-ranked Long Island, and then the Hawks of Monmouth University on Sunday. Both doubleheader matchups are scheduled for 12 p.m. starts and will be broadcast live for the first time on Bryantbulldogs.tv. The Black and Gold will also be honoring its three seniors on Sunday between contests.

The Bulldogs (7-30, 4-10 NEC) enter this weekend’s matchups ranked ninth in the NEC and will look for the upset of their opponents both Saturday and Sunday.

Sophomore Laura Bowen leads the Bulldog softball team with a .346 batting average.

Sophomore Laura Bowen (Hudson, Mass.) continues her memorable 2010 campaign, hitting a team-high .346. The Massachusetts native also leads her team in runs (19), hits (37), doubles (13), RBIs (14), total bases (56), walks (17) and stolen bases (3). Bowen is also tied for the team-lead with two homeruns.

Long Island enters Saturday’s doubleheader matchup in first place in the NEC with an overall record of 25-14 and a 10-2 mark in conference play. In fact, the Blackbirds only two conference losses came at the hands of the Monmouth Hawks.

Leading the way for the Blackbirds is their junior shortstop and last week’s NEC Player of the Week, Bianca Mejia. The Californian hits a league-high .398, including a NEC-high 10 homeruns. The Blackbirds are also led by a solid pitching staff and in particular, senior Blaire Porter. Porter leads the NEC in wins with 18 and is ranked second in the league with a stifling 1.69 ERA.

On Sunday, the Bulldogs will match up with second-ranked Monmouth University (20-13, 9-4 NEC) for the last home contest of the season. The annual senior day celebrations will also take place on Sunday following the second game.

The Black and Gold will be honoring a trio of seniors Sunday including, shortstop Ali Chouinard (Swansea, Mass.), catcher Ashley Coon (Levittown, Pa.) and outfielder Kim Leonard (Milford, Mass.). This senior class has had its hand in 76 victories, two NCAA tournaments including a game away from reaching the World Series as freshmen, plus two Northeast-10 tournaments and have played an integral role in the program’s transition to the Division I level.

Senior catcher Ashley Coon will be one of three seniors honored Sunday following the Monmouth doubleheader.

The first Bulldog to be honored Sunday will be outfielder Kim Leonard. The Milford, Mass. native has spent three years with the Bryant softball team, appearing in 59 contests and accumulating a career batting average of .144. Leonard has 118 total at bats, 17 hits, nine runs scored, four doubles, two homeruns and eight RBIs. The senior is also perfect on stolen base attempts going 4-4 for her career.

Shortstop Ali Chouinard has certainly left her mark on the program, leaving her name scattered throughout the record books. The Massachusetts native is currently ranked third in program history with 13 doubles in a season (2008); she is also ranked fifth in single season homeruns with six (2007). In terms of career numbers, the senior captain is currently ranked fourth in program history with 519 at bats heading into the weekend. Chouinard is also in the second spot in career homeruns (14), the sixth spot in total bases (210), fifth in career doubles (31), eighth in career hits (133) and eighth in career RBIs (67). Ali has played in 171 career games, accumulating a batting average of .256 and a fielding percentage of 94 percent.

Senior captain and catcher Ashley Coon has played in 170 career games. Coon, like fellow captain Chouinard, will also leave her name scattered throughout the Bryant record books. The Pennsylvania native is currently ranked seventh in career at bats (456), seventh in doubles (24) and fourth in career walks with 46. Her 170 games played is good enough for seventh all-time in the Bulldog record book. As the Bulldogs primary catcher for the last four years, Coon has accumulated a batting average of .268. Ashley has 768 putouts in her career and boasts a fielding percentage of 97 percent.

The 2010 senior day celebrations will take place following both games on Sunday. If you can’t make it out to this weekend’s matchups, be sure to check out bryantbulldogs.tv for the first-ever Bryant Softball live broadcast. Follow the link at the top of the page for more information regarding the broadcast.